David Drake
January 6, 2018 Article
Will More Countries Regulate Cryptocurrency Trading in 2018?
For governments across the globe, discussions about cryptocurrencies have taken center stage as blockchain technology continues to revolutionize the way products and services are traded. Though most countries allow cryptocurrency use, they’re somewhat skeptical of them. In fact, some countries, like Bolivia and Ecuador, have banned cryptocurrencies, declaring them illegal.
National governments and central banks in most countries are reluctant to allow the use of cryptocurrencies in legal transactions. They fear doing so could result in a global shift to decentralize economies and cause loss of economic power.
According to Sergey Grybniak, the Founder of Opporty.com, governments have serious reservations when it comes to technologies that allow people to transact anonymously.
He says, “Anonymous transactions are the biggest problem of cryptocurrencies from the government perspective. It is understandable because of existence of black crypto markets and possible usage of cryptocurrencies by terrorists and possible enemies."
Most players in the cryptocurrency market feel that various countries across the globe will be seeking to regulate cryptocurrencies in some way as 2018 progresses. South Korea has already started by announcing new rules that disallow anonymous accounts as of January 20, 2018. Moreover, they’re becoming more strict on matters such as money laundering, tax evasion, and fraud. Earlier in 2017, China moved to close several trading exchanges, while the UK and US have already indicated intentions to regulate the crypto market.
"I think this is the way that most countries in the world will follow. In future, these regulations will definitely help the crypto market by eliminating huge amount of fraud." says Andrey Tuchkov, the CEO of SOFIN.IO.
The regulation of cryptocurrency trading is largely seen as a step in the right direction because it will validate and legitimize the cryptocurrency space and protect investors from fraudsters.
"All governments will follow this direction in some way. I believe regulations are not bad for legit businesses. Of course it will add additional verification and other similar procedures but in general I do not see the problem in such innovations,” adds Grybniak.
Once governments put in place regulatory measures for the cryptocurrency market, crypto exchanges will be subjected to audits, and those that fail to pass the legal test are likely to go down. This move is likely to correct the market in terms of trading rates for different virtual currencies.
Disclaimer: David Drake is on the advisory board for most of the firms mentioned or quoted in this article.
David Drake
June 8, 2018 Article
Are Companies Ready for a Decentralized Future?
Survey results presented by Deloitte during the recent Consensus event show that corporations are changing momentum and opting to explore the possibility of blockchain to build practical business applications. According to the survey, 74% of large firms see a compelling business case for this dynamic technology.
The survey was conducted between March and April of this year in seven countries including France, Canada, China and the US. More than 1,000 executives drawn from industries such as healthcare, technology, media and finance participated in the survey.
Almost half of them expressed interest in this “trustless ecosystem” and mentioned their firms already have a blockchain system in place while 41% aim their technology to be operational next year.
Inevitable Growth
According to Juan Imaz, CEO and founder of Profede, application of blockchain technology has already started in some industries.
He says, “Throughout various industries from healthcare to finance, blockchain’s breakthrough technology is already being implemented and investigated to improve and enhance the way institutions and organisations function. From Fortune 500 companies to startups, blockchain is making its way.”
Imaz proceeds to highlight Western Union and Airbnb as examples of corporates that have already began using blockchain.
He says, “Western Union conducted a blockchain-based payments trial with Ripple. Airbnb bought ChangeCoin which is a bitcoin startup and also acquired a team of blockchain experts. For its data tracking and management processes, retail giant Walmart is now using blockchain.”
On his part, Navjit Dhaliwal, CEO of Iagon feels the survey results reflect an imminent boom of blockchain in corporations.
He says, “In my opinion, we are currently at the stage of enhanced innovative capabilities and as Blockchain technology begins to be widely adopted, it seems as though this is the moment in which, yes, we are looking at the inevitable upsurge of Blockchain adoption and implementation within the corporate realm.”
Further, Dhaliwal highlights several companies that are considering blockchain. He says, “As seen with Salt Lake City-based Evernym, Brazil-based ConsenSys and UK-based Electron, when considering the impact that the enhanced acceptance of blockchain technology with corporates will have on the growing cryptocurrency industry, it is undeniable that, by corporations adopting and implementing Blockchain tech, the cryptocurrency industry will experience similar growth.”
Just an Overhype
Although many companies are shifting their views to adopt a pragmatic mindset, almost 39% stated that blockchain is “overhyped”. Interestingly, 44% of American executives who were surveyed shared the same sentiment.
Nonetheless, the report shows that more companies are demonstrating interest in blockchain. This is a definite improvement to the 2017 Deloitte survey, where almost 40% of those surveyed have limited or zero knowledge of this technology.
According to Reginald Ringgold, founder of BlockVest Decentralized Exchange & Index Fund, HSBC is the largest crusader of CDM, which is the key to enabling blockchain become a reality within the derivatives space.
He says, “HSBC says it’s made the world’s first trade finance transaction using blockchain. Couple that with the U.K-based bank Barclays recently setting up an internal CDM adoption working group, and will be presenting its vision for how smart contracts can be combined with the concept Thursday at ISDA’s annual meeting in Miami, Florida.”
Ringgold further adds, “It’s a pivotal time for the project, as ISDA is expected to release the first iteration of the blockchain-compatible version of CDM early this summer. If the capital markets transition to the Common Domain Model, then this will open up a world of opportunities to standardize data structures, lifecycle events etc. Enlight of this we are definitely staring at a upsurge of use in Blockchain Technology within the financial worlds Derivatives markets as well as international trade. This will definitely boost the future growth of the cryptocurrency industry as more institutional money flows into the sector.”
Imaz believes this is just the beginning for blockchain. He adds that, “Once big giants use this innovative technology to improve their efficiency and costs, we will see widespread knowledge and growth of blockchain-based technology being used in the future.”
Ringgold further comments, “BlockVest, HSBC & Barclays will all benefit immensely from the advancement of Blockchain Technology within Derivatives markets and a transition to a Common Domain Model (CDM). As it is supposed to fix the inefficiencies and cut the costs of derivatives trading.”
Disclaimer: David Drake is on the advisory board for most of the firms mentioned or quoted in this article.